Thule
The Kingdom of Thule is a realm in the Westlands, located south of Varria and north of the South Wastes.It is ruled by a king, currently Ector V. History Before Independence Thule was always a different nation to Varria. Though they shared a language and a religion, there was much in their culture that divided them. The Thulish were an isolated group, ruled away from the others. Thule was also nearly untouched by the Vanai, who held little sway south of the Callin river. What now comprises Thule was originally four regions: The Thulish Plateau, the Coastal Lowlands, the Eastern Highlands and Bannakan. The first three were inhabited from an early period by Westish peoples, who became the Thulish. However, Bannakan is inhabited by the Bannak people (or Bannakmen) who are descended from nomads of the South Wastes. Even during the occupation of Thule by the Rhion Princes, Bannakan was an independent kingdom. Independent Kingdom In 242, Erik the Great died and was succeeded by his son, Darrion I. Darrion was a weaker leader and had little respect amongst the Thulish people. This led to discontent and eventually a rebellion rose under the leadership of the Lord Protector of Thule, Ector the Wise. This rebellion lasted nigh on a year before Darrion, still building his Kingdom, conceded and left Thule to Ector. In 243, Ector was crowned as Ector I of Thule. After his coronation, Ector rebuilt his capital of Halyn and organised it well with high towers and a grid system of roads. He passed away in 302. In 351, Ector III invaded Bannakan in an attempt to secure a strong mountainous border to the south. The border with Bannakan was the foothills at the edges of the Plateau and were difficult to defend. The Bannakmen also controlled much of the iron in the hills and Thule needed to prime for future wars. The conquest was long and bloody and eventually Ector III was killed in 356 at the battle of Tulcan Field. His successor, Alexos the Weak, ended the effort in 358 and was assassinated by his brother, Kaspa I. Kaspa's son, Kaspa II led a second military effort against Bannakan in 373 and eventually succeeded in securing the kingdom as his own. King Ferron Shester knelt to Kaspa in 379. In the following years the Kingdoms of Varria and Thule went to war against each other three times (in 397, 417, and 503) with each time ending in a stalemate. Geography Thule comprises the lower quarter of the Westlands. To the north lies Varria, and to the south, the Souther Wastes. To the west lies the Green Sea, a channel that separates the Westlands from Arrho. To the east lie the Umber Mountains, the border between the Westlands and Ostnor: the rest of the continent. The central region of the kingdom is a high plateau that sits between the lowland coast and the craggy highlands of the South Umber Foothills. Bannakan, the southern region, is rocky and mountainous with near impassable border mountains in the Bannak Range. The major river is the Yute, which runs through the centre of the kingdom across the plateau from the convergence of the Highlands and the Bannak Range. There is also the River Erral which (along with the upper River Callin) formeds the border with Varria. Government The Kingdom operates under a feudal system with a strict hierarchy of nobility in place. At the top, ruling of the entirety of the Kingdom is the King. Beneath him are the Earls, rulers of the shires, and the Minor Lords beneath them. Below the Lords are the Knights and the commonfolk. Monarch Thule's head of state is the King. They are a hereditary monarch, where the crown is passes from one member of the royal family to another, generally to the eldest male child or closest relative. The current king is Ector V. Unlike Varria, Thule does not allow for queens, with only men able to inherit the throne. As well as this, the King of Thule is not bested with the same degree of authority as his Varrian counterpart. He is reliant on his council and the ministers of state.